Insurgency in the Presevo Valley 1999-2001

[ 1999 - 2001 ]

The Insurgency in the Presevo Valley was an armed conflict between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the ethnic-Albanian insurgents of the Liberation Army of Presevo, Medveda and Bujanovac (UCPMB). There were instances during the conflict in which the Yugoslav government requested KFOR support in suppressing UCPMB attacks since they could only use lightly armed military forces as part of the Kumanovo Treaty that ended the Kosovo War, which created a buffer zone so that the bulk of Yugoslav armed forces could not enter.

The Yugoslav president, Vojislav Koštunica, often warned that fresh fighting would erupt if KFOR units did not act to prevent the attacks coming from the UCPMB.